Natural toothpastes: are they effective?
You’ve probably noticed that ‘natural’ or ‘toxin-free’ dental care products are starting to pop up everywhere. Our last blog post, we reviewed a charcoal toothbrush, which has been popular for its purported whitening effects.
So we wanted to tackle natural toothpastes next. These toothpastes generally contain naturally-derived ingredients such as essential oils.
The toothpaste is free of synthetic preservatives, flavours, colourants, raw materials derived from mineral oils and fluoride (which has been scientifically-proven to reduce the chance of your teeth decaying).
I switched from my usual Colgate Total toothpaste to try out Weleda Salt Toothpaste for 3 weeks.
DETAILS: Weleda Salt Toothpaste – natural protection for teeth and gums
COST: $8.96 from Nourished Life
EASE OF USE:
There weren’t any instructions given, but it is just toothpaste. The toothpaste is bright orange though, which I didn’t expect!
TASTE:
This is where things got a bit interesting. It is called a salt toothpaste for a reason! It was really quite salty and the peppermint taste was initially pretty harsh! After a few days, I got used to it and the minty taste was quite pleasant.
DQ STAFF RATING:
VERDICT:
My teeth did feel fairly clean after brushing, but I did notice that I definitely had more (plaque) bacteria build up than when I use my usual toothpaste. (I sacrificed my teeth by missing my usual morning brush to check this!)
The salt also had a drying effect on my lips, which was an unfortunate side effect.
I’d really only recommend natural toothpastes for people who have generally healthy teeth and don’t have issues with a lot of tooth decay. Otherwise you could really be doing some harm to your teeth.
I’d also suggest having a tamper resistant seal (that you find on most other toothpastes). You might not know if somebody else had already tried out your toothpaste!
Don’t forget to check out of review on Warpaint Natural Teeth Whitener: worth the hype?
